415
Views
19
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Biological therapy increases the health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in a clinical setting

, &
Pages 706-711 | Received 04 Nov 2015, Accepted 20 Dec 2015, Published online: 22 Jan 2016
 

Abstract

Objective Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) have a considerable impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients. We aimed to investigate the effect of biological therapy on HRQoL in IBD patients followed in an out-patient clinical setting and to compare the HRQoL scores to that of IBD patients without disease activity. Materials Observational and retrospective study in patients treated with biologics. A Short Health Scale (SHS) questionnaire on HRQoL consisting of four items (bowel symptoms, interference in daily life, worry, and general well-being) was completed and registered in each patient’s medical journal. Data on HRQoL was collected at the beginning of treatment and every 3 months thereafter. The biologically treated group was compared with a control group of IBD patients without disease activity. Results We identified 114 patients who began a new round of biological treatment. These were either naïve to biologics or had a break in treatment for more 3 months. After 3 months of therapy, significant improvements in HRQoL compared to baseline were observed for every item on the SHS (p value < 0.01). Subgroup analysis showed a poorer HRQoL performance in women, patients with Crohn’s disease, and smokers. The median HRQoL score regarding bowel symptoms and interference in daily life was similar to the control group after 6 months of treatment. Conclusion Treatment with biological therapy leads to a statistically and clinically significant improvement in HRQoL in all parameters. After 6 months of treatment, bowel symptoms and interference in daily life were similar to patients without disease activity.

Disclosure statement

This study was partially supported by an unrestricted grant from AbbVie, Denmark.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.